Behringer FCB1010 4-stars Reviews

Excellent (yet complex) controller

I got this to be able to change some plugin presets on the fly and after (a lot) of debugging and learning (I am new to MIDI) I was able to correctly configure the MIDI messages I wanted to send and properly tell the plugins what to do with them. It gets the job done, and the price is accessible.

There is no limitation on what you can do with this, basically you can configure each button (and the expression pedals) to send any MIDI message you want. I could change presets, configure amp settings, Volume, and many other effects just as I wanted. You have a lot of freedom when creating your own setup.

But getting started with it is pretty hard to do, since the only interface you have with it is a 2-digit 7 segment digital display. Luckily, there is a pretty big community online that can help a lot.

Powerful, but finnicky

Firstly, as many other reviewers have likely highlighted, it's built like a f**king tank. The chassis is nigh on invincible. The only weak spot in the construction is both of the expression pedals. Made of a very brittle feeling plastic that I think might not have great survivability.

The expression pedals are really holding the brunt of my irks with this device. They never quite seem to consistently return to max or min positions and they are very much NOT big fans of being reprogrammed to send a different CC signal than 27/28 in my experience. Now this could be user error as I still haven't gotten fully to reigns with the programming interface.

Overall, good tool with a long and possibly frustrating learning curve.

ALLTOGETHER NICE!

i bought it for my rc505mkii looper; after installing the custom chip everything works fine.

You have to get used to press the buttons because they are not very responsive.

It's kind of hard to program it, but after an hour you'll learn it.

After all it's good product.

Great, Limitless but also complex

I definitely recommend this product. It is insanely flexibility (basically can do everything) and has great value for money.

There are a few things, however, which I think the average user should be aware of:

1. This devices has no graphical user interface.

2. This device has hardly any limitation as to what you can make each key press do.

3. The combined conclusion from the above two bullets is: you need to actually program the thing - using it's hardware to do so. Remember setting the time in your old watch, where you need to press and hold several buttons in a specific order to get things right? so just like that, but with far more options, and with many more buttons.

I had to watch a 45min YouTube video that explains how to program the thing. As the instruction manual is simply not up-to-par, I recommend you do the same :

. After you learned the principals, it's quite easy to get going with, and the added value of this extreme flexibility is very much present. You can literally program any switch to shoot any MIDI signal(s) of many types and on many channels. I can't imagine something it can't do.

Also, and regardless, my specific unit produces a certain "hum" when it is on. Not a deal breaker, but could be better off without it. Might be a grounding issue.

Bottom line:

- HUGE value for money. You can do SO MUCH with it...

- VERY LONG learning curve. Expect to spend at least a few hours until you get the hang of it. I am a professional programmer with embedded systems experience and it took me about 4 hours to get it right.

Cheap midi board

Hey it's cheap - but it works great.

I recommend upgrading the firmware with something like uno [run a google search], but it's fine as is.

Setting up the device is a hassle - it is absolutely worth downloading software for programming it, and even then it still is a time consuming and tedious task.

Once set up the unit works great. The switches and expression pedals feel a bit cheap, but the features are quality - and it's way cheaper then the competition.

The best bet for live show

I use the Behringer FCB1010 in live shows to control my VST amp running in Cubase.

If you use the use the software editor for configuring the FCB1010 so this task is peace of cake.

The pedalboard is pretty big for my use but it does what it promisses.

The metal finish give it a robust look.

It's a very good pedal board for the price.

I would buy it again!

Nice

Im quite skeptical about Behringer products because of few bad experiences, but this one seems to be really cool, only one bit thing to remember: editing software for pc is free, for mac you have to pay some 20euro. There is a way to programm it without editing software, but to programm one button it takes few minutes, and it includes jumping on one leg 3times then one quick spin clockwise followed by 3 times anticlockwise and so fourth, so on :)

great device, RECOMMEND!!!

Im using it flawlessly as ableton controller!

Big, heavy and work fine

These are decent controllers for the money - the presence of 2 expression pedals built in is unusual and valuable.

They are very solid, heavy and large, but would withstand a fair amount of abuse.

They are awkward and somewhat annoying to programme, but once you get the knack they're fine. You'll need a confident, basic knowledge of MIDI to do this, or a willingness to learn it, as the devices are not beginner-friendly.

Some MIDI functions require you to mod the 1010 with the 'Uno' chip, but all the basic stuff is there without doing that.

If size, weight and experience with MIDI aren't issues, these are good budget controllers.

Behringer FCB1010

Works fine and no complains.

Wah / Volume pedal feels not same than usual wah etc. but no bid deal, they do the job enough well.

Instead orginal prom I installed Eurekaprom inside cause Eleven Rack.

Very easy to install Eurekaprom and It also works well.

I bought this 2011 and still going year 2015 without single problems.

Could be updated

I did spend some time with this unit and I can say that it's ok for the money you spend for it.

The original Chip is not updated so I had to buy the UNo chip which gives you more liberty.

Programming MIDI with this unit is, even with Uno chip, a little bit challenging at first .

The unit is very solid, doesn't feel at all cheap. The buttons are well done. The pedals don't offer best feeling but there are ok.

Having MIDI out and in offers you the possibility to connect the unit to other devices and I found especially useful for connecting it to a computer in order to program with software. A USB port would have been more easy to use although.

I don't think you could get something better for the money.

In control

This is a very comprehensive MIDI controller for keyboard or guitar players. The build quality is very good and the feature set is rich and useful.

Inevitably the user interface (with only a numeric display) is incredibly difficult to use. This is a machine that will really tax your memory. Also working out how to do certain things is not easy and the manual is not very helpful. The manual could really do with quite a few different example setups, to give ideas as to a) what is possible and b) how one might go about achieving things.

For the reasons in the last paragraph I have given an OK score for 'handling' as I couldn't quite see where else to rate that aspect.

The action of the switches and controllers feels good generally, although the latter to some extent is limited by the setup parameters.

It may not be an essential tool, but a very useful one for the price, nonetheless.

Like a lone champion

Since it's the only (much) cheaper choice for a midi foot controller after the Roland FC-300, any budget oriented user will end up with this. It is fully programmable, fairly easy to do so if you have a basic MIDI knowledge. It is not extremelly versatile on the command choices, but a more advanced user can work around this. It is also light and low profile, plus the integrated power supply is very convenient. The quality of the pedals is not exactly top-notch, you have to stomp firmly to be sure you got it on, and you know it won't take many years of this. The expression pedals are pretty accurate, but at absolutely no point should you put your whole weight on them, as you could do on an all-metal construction.

Overall, you can put it to very good use, especially for this price, but it certainly can't take any abuse.

enoigh

its the right way wnen you need a board for your amp and you dont have enpugh money for the originall board . this would be totaly enough for live and so on !

Basic midi controller board that does the job and is actually good quality from Behringer.

Some gripes though, the manual is totally inadequate (there are some instructions that actually give you faulty info on how to program certain things and you have to figure out by yourself how they actually work in real life) and it takes a bit time to learn how to program the pedal correctly. I for one battled many nights and lost my nerves more than once trying to figure out how to punch in certain midinotes with this (programmed it to be used with a sampler, punching in different samples/intros/outros with a certain pedal). Also the program you can download that you could use your computer to upload settings sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.... The program however is not official and doesn't come with the pedal - so not official.

Other than the rather SHITTY manual, the product itself is good. HARD to program but you can get used to it. Sturdy and durable pedals that can take some harder foot stomping without breaking, and does the stuff well once yuo actually learn how to progra it.

So far so good

I bought this controller for live gigging because I quite often use the Alesis Vortex (keytar) to control a Roland Integra-7 module, and giving me the same "freedom on stage" as the guitar players. Sound selecting on the Vortex was a real pain so I needed something better.

Well, the FCB1010 does exactly what I need. The programming is not difficult at all, you only have to concentrate yourself like for half an hour to understand it. And also reach out for that sound parameter list from your sound module to figure out the correct control values like msb, lsb, and pc. Don't start programming as long as you don't have that list or you will get very frustrated!

At this moment, I only use one of the two pedals, in such a way that it controls the volume. I've set the range from 63 to 127, which means that I always start a sound in the lowest volume range and easily can boost up the volume when I have to play a solo. You have to do this for every patch of course, but at this time I'm really not using all of the 100 preset positions. The second pedal could be used for modulations but I have that already on the Vortex.

Patch selection is, when programming was succesful, of course very straightforward. But, since you probably are going to select sounds on a module or synth that is NOT in your line of view, you don't see what you are selecting, only the patch number... of the FCB1010 that is, not the one from your sound source.

I resolved this by organising (and memorising) the patches in this way: 01 to 10 are Piano sounds, 11 to 20 Bass sounds (sometime I replace the bass player when he switches over to solo guitar), 21 to 30 are Pads and so on. Usually, not more than 1 or 2 sounds per sound group are needed so my little brain can cope with this :-)

The FCB looks very sturdy to me, it's surprisingly heavy when you grab it. My conclusion is; so far so good. Owning it less than 3 months, I can't say anything about durability.

Behringer FCB1010

I've only just started to delve into this product, since I bought it, but so far I've found it to be relatively easy to use.

The construction is solid enough and the mains adaptor is built in so no 'wall wart'.

The instructions on setting it up at first, in my opinion, aren't that straight forward for a MIDI novice. However, if you search online there's a MIDI editor available which should make things a lot easier.

At it's current price I'd say it really good value for anyone with some midi gear they'd like to control remotely.

Feature-rich MIDI Controller for a great price

Best price for any MIDI-controller you'll ever find. However, it's very hard to configure, but if you are willing to put time in learning to understand it, it's perfect for a very low price.

A great tool for various situations.

I use this midi pedalboard for some time now...

At the moment I can say it's a tool for any occasion on a budget due to the fact that it can be programmed easily and its use can spam from PC to racks mounted or any device with midi signals.

I've used this pedalboard, and still do, with various occasions from studio sessions to live performance.

the fact that can be programable allows me to used it with items like Guitar Rig, Amplitube on PC, live with amp channel switching and effect rigs like Eleven rack or Line6 devices.

Quality wise, I can say that for the money it's great, unfortunatly some little aspects of it are a little less amazing, such as the pedals (all) are made in plastic and the light on each foot pedals are too little to be seen on stage.

the other aspect is the size of the pedalboard, thinking of airplaine traveling with it, you would need a regular size suitcase.

Good and versatile

Bought some of these to use with our Kempers live. There is an aftermarket chip (comes with glow-in-the-dark stickers as well) that you can buy that is pre-programmed for the Kemper, which makes it extremely easy to use. My main gripe with these is that the expression pedals give a bit of a "meh" feeling. The range is pretty small (physically) and the resistance just make them feel kind of awkward to use.